Long Road Ahead

Upon arrival in New York City, the finalists quickly learned just how tough this competition would be, as evidenced by Yvan's journal entry after day one. Despite the exhausting challenges, he kept his momentum going through the very end.

Team Giada Bonding

The teams quickly grew close — Yvan especially bonded with Martita and Ippy, who stuck around with him until Miami. He also became tight with Giada and always valued her advice: "She's like a mom. She knows what you need before you do."

Pep Talk

Team Giada won the second challenge, a bus tour of Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, but the judges weren't especially impressed with Yvan's dish. He was disappointed and reflected in his journal: "You carry on because you must. There's no rewind, no turning back."

Stew Room

There was plenty of time to reflect on challenges in the stew room, where the finalists hung out before hearing their fate. Here, someone snapped a shot of Yvan and Martita during one of these long waits.

Chopped Veteran

"Deja vu!" Yvan wrote in the top right corner of his journal when he learned the next challenge involved a
Chopped basket — he'd competed on
Chopped before. He survived the chopping block, but had to say goodbye to teammate Josh.

Fired Up

The next challenge brought the finalists to a Fashion Week show where they presented made-over dishes. Yvan, Ippy and Linkie were confident in their dishes and cheered on the other finalists to finish.

Fashion Week

Yvan's presentation on the runway was a bit of a miss. The previous week, the judges said he was too low, so he tried to amp up his energy. "He's trying so hard to fill the big space," said Bob Tuschman. It came off "painful to watch," said Susie.

Food-Court Takeover

Yvan and his teammates were thrilled to be assigned a Mexican kiosk for the food-court challenge. With Martita on their side, they thought, how could they lose? Yvan's thoughts immediately went to tacos: "Taco Tuesday! Easy!" he wrote.

Breakthrough Presentation

The final challenge in New York was a breakthrough week for Yvan. In his presentation to a panel of media heavy-hitters, he opened up about his family's struggle to keep food on the table when they moved to the U.S. from Venezuela. He brought Susie Fogelson to tears: "I have a whole new vision of him," she said. "That was some serious evolution."

Love Bites

Yvan's momentum kept rolling into the next challenge, a live demo before a South Beach Wine & Food Festival crowd. Instead of writing out a script, Yvan jotted down a few points he wanted to hit about his fried oyster "love bites" that made his girlfriend fall in love with him.

Roll With the Punches

The mentors wanted to see how well their finalists could roll with the punches, so they rigged Yvan's audio and he did his entire demo with no microphone. "Giada, your guy was flawless. It brought out the most in him — big, fun energy," said Bob Tuschman.

Promo Script

The final six contenders got just three takes to shoot a 30-second promo for the show they hoped to have on Food Network. Yvan got choked up when he saw framed photos of his family on his promo set: "I only have one take left. If I don't get it right, that's it."

One Shot

Yvan was nervous as his promo appeared on the big screen in front of a panel of Food Network stars and the judges: "I hope I make Giada proud." The panel was impressed: "I would watch him. I believe there's a star there," said Robert Irvine.

Farewell to a Friend

Moving on to make his pilot was bittersweet for Yvan, because that meant his good buddy Ippy was going home. "This is going to be a tough night. It's going to be an emotional night. I couldn't have asked for better boys," said Giada.